How Can Your Senior Eat for Strong Bones?

By Shanele Healy | January 23, 2019 |

One of the best things that your elderly family member can do to help strengthen her bones is to eat the right types of foods. When she’s getting the nutrients that she needs, she can gradually improve bone strength and hopefully avoid osteoporosis.

Home Care Services Concord NC – How Can Your Senior Eat for Strong Bones?

Diet and Exercise Can Work Together

Changing your senior’s diet is only a part of winning the battle for healthier bones. Weight-bearing exercise, like walking, is the other part. Talk to your senior’s doctor about whether it’s okay for her to start exercising. Her doctor can recommend an exercise plan for her to start out with and what she needs to do in order to increase her activity even further.

Calcium Is the Old Standby

Calcium is the mineral that’s been recommended for bone health most often over the years, because it’s the mineral that keeps bones strong. Most of the calcium that your senior needs she can get from what she eats, as long as she’s eating the right foods. Dairy products, foods fortified with calcium, and greens are all great choices. So is fish, such as salmon, and nuts.

Vitamin D Is Also Important

Vitamin D is a newer player on the bone health scene and it’s just as important as calcium. While calcium helps to build strong bones, vitamin D makes it easier for your senior’s body to absorb the calcium that she needs. Salmon and other fatty fish are a great choice because they’re a great source of both calcium and vitamin D. Other foods that are high in vitamin D include whole milk, fortified cereals, and egg yolks.

Cooking May not Be an Appealing Activity

Depending on your senior’s health and energy levels, cooking may not be all that enjoyable for her. And when you’re changing up the types of foods that she eats, that provides another level of challenges for her. You might want to think about hiring home care services providers to help out in the kitchen. They can take the aggravation out of cooking so that your senior can focus on eating healthier meals.

Your senior may not want to make all of these changes at one time and that’s okay. Making changes that last and that help her to be stronger and healthier is the key, not that these changes are immediate. Pick one or two tips to work on and then add others as you both feel comfortable focusing on something new.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in Concord NC, please call the professional staff at Caring at Heart today at (704) 379-7510. Serving Charlotte, Statesville, Ballantyne, Mooresville, Huntersville, Matthews, Concord, Gastonia, Pineville and Indian Trail.

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Shanele Healy

Owner at Caring at Heart

Caring for others has always been a passion for the owner. She joined the healthcare field while still in high school believing that every health provider had the same intentions at heart. While working as a nurse assistant,Gloria quickly realized that those whom needed us most were being neglected and not receiving the best quality of care they deserved.
Knowing in her heart that families deserved better, she started Caring At Heart in 2008 with two key goals in mind: To provide clients and their families with an experience that was personable, easy, and reassuring and to create a working environment that employees were excited and proud to be a part of.